Olympic Champions

A Jewish look at the quest for greatness.

Olympic athletes are captivating world audiences with their competition to see who can run the fastest and jump the highest. So while the Republic of China and the Commonwealth of Australia are racking up medals, I wonder about the "Kingdom of Animals." Consider:

Usain Bolt is the fastest human alive, holding the world record in the 100 meters at 9.58 seconds. That's a peak speed of 26 mph (42 kph).

If only he was as well-equipped as the cheetah! High-traction paws and claws, large nostrils and lungs, and powerful, springy bones all help the cheetah to cruise along at an amazing 72 mph (114 kph).

Even an ostrich can run faster than Bolt.

Or how about acclaimed swimmer Michael Phelps? In a race of 200 meters, a sailfish would blast through the water at 68 mph (108 kph) – finishing ahead of Phelps in about one-tenth the time.

A flea's jump requires acceleration 50 times greater than the space shuttle after liftoff.

Then there's the high jump, where Javier Sotomayor holds the world record at 2.45m (8 feet), slightly higher than Sotomayor's own height. Yet relative to body size, fleas jump 150 times their height – the equivalent of a human jumping about 1,000 feet. A flea's jump requires acceleration 50 times greater than the space shuttle after liftoff. (And for good measure, fleas can pull 160,000 times their own weight, the equivalent of a human pulling 24 million pounds.)

So all this has me thinking: The grit and determination of Olympic athletes – the years of training and dedication – is surely to be admired. But perhaps there is some other pursuit where humans are more uniquely qualified to excel where no other species can.

Hungry Wolf

First let's identify the point of distinction between humans and animals.

From a pure physiological perspective, they are quite similar. Baboon hearts have been transplanted into humans, and the grafting of pig skin is common treatment for human burn victims. Indeed, the Torah account of creation suggests a correlative process from simpler organisms to fish, birds, animals and, ultimately, man.

The singular distinction is described in Genesis 2:7, where God gives the first human being a soul, a spark of the Divine.

In short, animals are body; people are body and soul.

Thus a hungry wolf tears at its prey, without regard for other wolves that may be hungry, too. The needs of an animal's body operate unfettered.

A human, by contrast, is defined by the ability to choose a spiritual goal – charity, prayer, caring for the sick and elderly – often at cost to one's own financial and even bodily welfare.

In Jewish consciousness, the true test of human heroics is when the body is pulling us in a negative direction, and we conquer that urge through the force of our spiritual will. As the Talmud says: "Who is the strong person? The one who conquers his desires" (Avot 4:2).

Human Dignity

When life presents us with difficulties, will we rise or falter? When resources are scarce, do we slip into a jungle mentality, or do we become wiser and more compassionate?

A story from the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp illustrates the unique tension between body and soul. At the conclusion of the nightly meal – a scrap of stale bread, filthy watery soup and a small pat of margarine – the Nazi commander would toss the empty margarine tub into the center of the room, inviting the starving prisoners to fight for the remaining drops. The sight provided nightly entertainment for the sadistic commander and his guards.

Elijah was steadfast in preserving his human dignity.

One prisoner named Elijah, however, refused to take part in the commander's show. Though his body was withered and frail, he was steadfast in preserving his human dignity, and the others drew strength from his refusal to join the frenzy.

Then, one cold wintry night, Elijah cracked. He suddenly threw himself toward the greasy vat and furiously rolled around like a crazed beast. The satanic commander howled with delight. The last of the Jews had been broken.

Later, after the guards had left, Elijah began to pluck threads out of his jacket. He then sat down on the floor to carve a hole in his one, precious potato.

The others looked on in silence. Elijah had gone mad.

Then they watched as Elijah carefully placed the margarine into the potato, and inserted the threads which he had nimbly twisted into a wick.

At that moment Elijah looked at the others calmly and said, "Now it is time to light the Chanukah candles."

Spiritual Olympics

A key to success in the spiritual Olympics is the recognition that God sends us challenges, tailor-made for our specific set of circumstances and station in life. When the coach raises the high-jump bar, is he trying to make life difficult – or is he drawing out the athlete's potential? Of course the coach wants the athlete to succeed! And if he's a good coach, he knows the right time and amount to raise the bar. Granted, the athlete might fail to clear that height. But the coach knows that with enough concentration and effort, the athlete will succeed.

This concept underlies all of Jewish practice and thought. The very idea of mitzvot is they are actions which work against our physical nature, in order to build our spiritual muscles. There is no commandment to "breathe," because we're going to do it anyway. But since we may have a tendency to horde money, the Torah asks us to re-dispense 10 percent of our income to charity. If everyone gladly gave away money voluntarily, the Torah wouldn't need to tell us to do so. All the mitzvot direct our spiritual growth, building our weakness into strength.

As challenges arise, we strive to grow higher, and welcome these opportunities for even grander achievements of the soul.

So while we all enjoy seeing humans stretch the limits of achievement by running, jumping and swimming the farthest and fastest, let's try some spiritual exercise. Next time a challenge comes your way, stop and think: How can I use this to grow into a better human being? What would the Almighty want from me?

Olympic viewers got a taste of this in 2004 when Michael Phelps stepped aside and gave up his spot in the finals of the medley relay, to a teammate who had been disappointed in his own previous performances. Phelps gave up prime-time glory and a share in what turned out to be a new world record – in exchange for an act of kindness.

Flexing one's spiritual muscles – that's an Olympic champion. For after all, isn't that what we humans truly do best?

Featured at Aish.com:

About the Author

Rabbi Shraga Simmons grew up trekking through snow in Buffalo, New York, enjoying summers as a tour guide at Niagara Falls. He holds a degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin, and rabbinic ordination from the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem. He is the co-founder of Aish.com, and founder of the Torah study site, JewishPathways.com. He is also the co-founder of HonestReporting.com, and author of "David & Goliath", the definitive treatment of media bias against Israel (2012). He lives with his wife and children in the Modi'in region of Israel.

The opinions expressed in the comment section are the personal views of the commenters. Comments are moderated, so please keep it civil.

Visitor Comments: 16

(16)
Shlomo,
September 1, 2004 12:00 AM

Right On!

A perfect message for the reflective period of Elul and to carry with us into the Yomim Noraim (High Holidays) and the New Year.

(15)
Mordechai,
August 30, 2004 12:00 AM

Brilliant!

Furthermore, the State of Israel had to go one better and creat its own olymic games.
Furthermore, it calls them the Maccabi Games. If there is one person in Jewish History who most symbolises the fight against the Greek spirit and the worship of the body it was Yehudah HaMaccabi. He must turn in his grave at having these games named after him. What an insult to a man who risked everything for true Jewish values.

(14)
Faina,
August 27, 2004 12:00 AM

This article gives a bitter after-taste

Doesn't matter how much you try, you can't diminish the win of the first Israeli Olympic Gold.

(13)
Anonymous,
August 26, 2004 12:00 AM

Go!

Go! Go! Go!, Israel!

(12)
Anonymous,
August 25, 2004 12:00 AM

send this article to the President

Bravo.
Our strenght, our life, - is spiritual.
when the president says - all are proud of the guy with the medal -
there are other "all" that have a daily , every minute spiritual battles, and don't even know of those - "Olympics" in "Greece"!

(11)
Anonymous,
August 24, 2004 12:00 AM

Disrespectful towards athletes

Comparing athletes to animals is disrespectful towards the athletes. It takes so much hard work and so many hours of training every day to get where they are, I think that even if our purpose in life is different, their hard work and dedication are still to be greatly admired.

(10)
Sara Rigler,
August 23, 2004 12:00 AM

Great article

The juxtaposition of ultimate human capabilities in the physical realm and animal capabilities was truly brilliant.

(9)
jack rabchinsky,
August 23, 2004 12:00 AM

PERFECT THOUGHTS

ASSURE YOU CAN MAKE THIS ARTICLE BE PUBLISHEDTHRU OUR NEWSPAPERS B,H

(8)
T Irwin,
August 23, 2004 12:00 AM

But we can still learn something

While I agree with what Rabbi Simmons is saying, there is another angle. That being when we look at the lengths these athletes go to, the sacrifice, the rigors of training, and the self control and dedication it takes to achieve these physical feats we should be inspired. Why? Because if someone can go through all that discipline and hardship for the chance...not the certainty of a moment of glory, how much more so should we be inspired to rededicate ourselves to learning and spiritual growth, with rigour, self sacrifice and discipline for we are guaranteed to get a reward, to win a medal as it were. Moreover, the Jewish 'spiritual training' of learning and Chessed etc is by and large enjoyable, whereas running and exercising for hours a day in the pouring rain or baking heat is positively boring I would have thought.

(7)
D. Beck,
August 23, 2004 12:00 AM

Don't belittle their accomplishments

Certainly Torah-observant Jews have different priorities than Olympic athletes, but their accomplishments are nevertheless inspiring just in terms of the dedication and self-sacrifice they embody. While we don't strive to do what they do--and indeed the author explains our body/soul duality nicely, their accomplishments, in my opinion, should not be belittled. I felt the author did this when he compared the athletes to animals.

(6)
Anonymous,
August 23, 2004 12:00 AM

Thank you Rabbi Simmons

Thank you Rabbi Simmons for reminding me that the challenges in life that come my way are not at all coincidental - that they are indeed "tailor made" for me.

I've always thought that this self same concept could be applied to how we view our family members. Hashem in his infinite wisdom and kindness gives us our immediate family members and "tailors" their unique personalities along with a given set of circumstances (i.e if a person should be raised in poverty, middle class or wealth - with stable caregivers or otherwise)to enable us to develop those charachter traits we need in order to thrive in our journey through life.
Thank you for so eloquently presenting the 'reality of life'

(5)
A. Dvir,
August 22, 2004 12:00 AM

Great Article!

Thanks so much for highlighting the importance and superiority of what it means to be a true human athlete.

(4)
Anonymous,
August 22, 2004 12:00 AM

Mind, Body ans Spirit

All of the Olmpic athletes deserve appraise except of course the Iranian wrestler who chose to forfeit a match because his counterpart was a Jew.Many atletes will not simply step aside in a public manner but move heaven and earth to get the games and compete with the world.

But I must say that the mind, body and soul must work in tandem so that one can become a more spiritual person. I myself am a runner and keeping the mitzvot takes the same discipline, mental focus and strength of mind as does running 2 hours a day.Athletics enables us to push ourselves mentally and break boundaries that we would not otherwise attempt.The discipline it takes to implement a mizvot is also one in which we break barriers that sometimes appear unreachable.

(3)
Anonymous,
August 22, 2004 12:00 AM

A Moot Point

We already know that Judaism's challenge to man and woman in this world is to maximize one's spiritual ability and growth in a physical body, but that is not the point of striving for athletic superiority. Let's not juxtapose the two and give respect to all Olympians and any athlete who strives to develop their human athletic abilities to the highest level while still growing as a spiritual being.

(2)
Jackie,
August 22, 2004 12:00 AM

It goes both ways

The examle you mention of Michael Phelps doing a heroic human deed is very interesting, and it contrasts with Paul Hamm, the US gymnast who won the gold medal only through a judge's mistakes. Wouldn't it have been amazing for Hamm to make an announcement that he was giving his gold medal to the South Korean athlete who had truly earned it? Hamm failed the challenge; he looks more now like the wolf grabbing the grub. Oh well, I guess the Olympics has both kinds!

(1)
Alex Talkar,
August 22, 2004 12:00 AM

Selikoth - Yearly Jewish Olmpic

Our Sleikoth has already begin, where wake-up at dawn and attend prayers.We we look into our hearts and Reconcile, pray for foregiveness for the sins we have done againts anyone before submitting overselves to Ha-shem finally on Yom-Kippur. By observing fast one gets the pinch in the stomach leading us in the processs of Spritual uplift controlling mind and body. We pray not only for overselves but ror the entire community so that we remain closer to Ha-shem and achieve Spiritual Guidance and Prosperity.
Thank You for the article.

I've been striving to get more into spirituality. But it seems that every time I make some progress, I find myself slipping right back to where I started. I'm getting discouraged and feel like a failure. Can you help?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Spiritual slumps are a natural part of spiritual growth. There is a cycle that people go through when at times they feel closer to God and at times more distant. In the words of the Kabbalists, it is "two steps forward and one step back." So although you feel you are slipping, know that this is a natural process. The main thing is to look at your overall progress (over months or years) and be able to see how far you've come!

This is actually God's ingenious way of motivating us further. The sages compare this to teaching a baby how to walk. When the parent is holding on, the baby shrieks with delight and is under the illusion that he knows how to walk. Yet suddenly, when the parent lets go, the child panics, wobbles and may even fall.

At such times when we feel spiritually "down," that is often because God is letting go, giving us the great gift of independence. In some ways, these are the times when we can actually grow the most. For if we can move ourselves just a little bit forward, we truly acquire a level of sanctity that is ours forever.

Here is a practical tool to help pull you out of the doldrums. The Sefer HaChinuch speaks about a great principle in spiritual growth: "The external awakens the internal." This means that although we may not experience immediate feelings of closeness to God, eventually, by continuing to conduct ourselves in such a manner, this physical behavior will have an impact on our spiritual selves and will help us succeed. (A similar idea is discussed by psychologists who say: "Smile and you will feel happy.")

That is the power of Torah commandments. Even if we may not feel like giving charity or praying at this particular moment, by having a "mitzvah" obligation to do so, we are in a framework to become inspired. At that point we can infuse that act of charity or prayer with all the meaning and lift it can provide. But if we'd wait until being inspired, we might be waiting a very long time.

May the Almighty bless you with the clarity to see your progress, and may you do so with joy.

In 1940, a boatload 1,600 Jewish immigrants fleeing Hitler's ovens was denied entry into the port of Haifa; the British deported them to the island of Mauritius. At the time, the British had acceded to Arab demands and restricted Jewish immigration into Palestine. The urgent plight of European Jewry generated an "illegal" immigration movement, but the British were vigilant in denying entry. Some ships, such as the Struma, sunk and their hundreds of passengers killed.

If you seize too much, you are left with nothing. If you take less, you may retain it (Rosh Hashanah 4b).

Sometimes our appetites are insatiable; more accurately, we act as though they were insatiable. The Midrash states that a person may never be satisfied. "If he has one hundred, he wants two hundred. If he gets two hundred, he wants four hundred" (Koheles Rabbah 1:34). How often have we seen people whose insatiable desire for material wealth resulted in their losing everything, much like the gambler whose constant urge to win results in total loss.

People's bodies are finite, and their actual needs are limited. The endless pursuit for more wealth than they can use is nothing more than an elusive belief that they can live forever (Psalms 49:10).

The one part of us which is indeed infinite is our neshamah (soul), which, being of Divine origin, can crave and achieve infinity and eternity, and such craving is characteristic of spiritual growth.

How strange that we tend to give the body much more than it can possibly handle, and the neshamah so much less than it needs!